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freely and often dates the earliest of these creeds to the 30s AD, sometimes within just 1-2 years after the crucifixion! 49 Though we had to be necessarily brief in our treatment here, these five categories are very strong indications that Jesus claimed to be deity--clearly, often, and from very different angles, which indicate the presence of cumulative data. Jesus’ own use of the two titles Son of God and Son of Man are major indications of his self-consciousness. Different manifestations of worshipping Jesus and the application of the loftiest and most sacred Old Testament names (such as YHWH) and other concepts to Jesus Christ occurred immediately after the crucifixion. Both were due to experiences that the disciples wholeheartedly believed were appearances of the risen Jesus, providing two other crucial pointers to this conclusion of Jesus’ claims of deity. The exceptionally early creeds, many of which could well be apostolic in origin, also trace these incredible beliefs back to the very beginning. Unlike the world religious teachers surveyed above, Jesus actually did make many crucial claims that are unlike those taught by any chief founder of the other major world religions. It is often assumed that these other founders made similar comments, but this cannot be substantiated from any reliable historical data. Neither can the non-Christian teachings be considered as just differing aspects of essentially similar messages, nor even minor variances to be accounted for by different cultures, either. Jesus’ claims were ontologically different than the others, thus having to do with Jesus Christ’s very nature, marking even deeper distinctions from the others. 49 Bart D. Ehrman, Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth (New York: Harper Collins, 2012), see pages 22, 27, 92-93, 97, 109-113, 130-132, 141, 144-145, 155-158, 164, 170-173, 232, 249-251, 254, 260-263; cf. 289-291. 30
2. Jesus Himself as the Path to Salvation We have reviewed far more details for the first point than we will for any of the others, largely due to our survey of some major non-Christian religious founders. Of course, the indication that Jesus taught his own deity plays a major role in the overall teaching and authority of Jesus, too. However, we will not delve into as many details with the remaining categories of Jesus’ uniqueness, stating the last five subjects more succinctly. The second subject is that, in one way or another, often with differing messages and nuances, many major religious teachers have claimed to present God’s way of salvation. Generally, as prophets and/or teachers, those who did so usually pointed to a path that often involved good works, though some other emphases such as worship, or specific religious disciplines also played major roles. Examples of the different world religious roads to salvation certainly vary. As Hexham outlines it, for Judaism and Islam it might be “obedience to the law of GOD as expressed in their respective SCRIPTURES.” Personal piety is also emphasized. For Hinduism and Buddhism, there are different teachings in the various traditions, but release from the cycle of birth and rebirth in various reincarnations is a very frequent goal. Buddhism also prescribes the Fourfold Path as the means of dealing with the perception of suffering and its cessation by eliminating one’s desire. Further, the Buddhist Eightfold Path can be summarized under three headings: faith, morality, and meditation. In contrast, Christianity emphasizes God’s grace being given freely so that humans may commit their lives in faith to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died for their sins and rose from the dead. 50 50 Irving Hexham, Concise Dictionary of Religion, pages 194-195, 85, 72, respectively (Hexham’s emphasis); cf. also Levinson, Religion, 29-30, 94-95, 103. 31
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